The Nationwide Labor Shortage & Its Impacts to Healthcare

Good help is hard to find these days, and hospital staff know their worth. In a recent article posted on Becker’s Hospital Review (https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/labor-pressures-continue-to-strain-hospital-finances-kaufman-hall.html) hospitals across the U.S. continue to feel the financial strain of the nationwide labor shortage and supply chain challenges.

According to a report released by healthcare consulting firm Kaufman Hall, labor expenses continued to climb from October to November 2021, despite hospitals seeing lower staffing levels.

"Hospitals are grappling with higher labor costs despite lower staffing levels, due to intense competition for qualified healthcare workers said Erik Swanson, a senior vice president of data and analytics with Kaufman Hall.  In addition, the highly contagious omicron variant could put more pressure on hospitals in months to come."

Along with labor expenses, total expense per adjusted discharge rose 24.7 percent when compared to November 2019.

As we step into 2022, it doesn’t seem like much will be changing for hospitals across the U.S. anytime soon. With staffing shortages and higher labor expenses, outsourcing work to consulting companies like Korchek may be something to consider to help relieve some of those financial and low staffing level strains.